“Free of charge” – by the state

When the state tells you that it provides something for free, it’s the same as if the fridge offers to buy you lunch. If nobody puts food in the fridge, nothing will come out of it for anybody in the first place. Just as well, if nobody gives money to the state, it will have no money to offer. Nothing is created by magic, neither in the fridge, nor in the state treasury. Therefore – the state never gives anything for free.

The fundamental concept of the 20th century economic theorists is – there’s no such thing as free lunch. Somebody must pay the bill in the end. And when it’s the state that claims to have provided something for free, the bill is paid by all of us. Because, where does the state get its money from? Income tax, consumption tax, corporate tax, and loans that have to be returned by citizens and companies. Therefore, since only honesty makes sense, the term “free of charge” must not be used in any circumstances when there’s taxpayers’ money involved. That would be false pretenses, covering up of facts, and misleading. The criminal codes of many countries are not really favorable of such behavior.

For that very reason, it is important for the adequate words to be used instead of common misconceptions.

– There are no free schoolbooks, but schoolbooks paid with taxpayers’ money;

– There’s no free public transport either, but bus rides paid with the taxpayers’ money

– There are no free trips, but trips paid with taxpayers’ money.

– There are no jobs free of tax and contributions, but jobs for which the taxes and contributions are paid with taxpayers’ money.

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This project was funded, in part, through U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of State.